Bishop Sabutis of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lithuania and Bishop Masvie of the Lutheran Church in Norway concluded after talks on 17 January in Vilnius that the two church bodies of which they are the bishops shared the same Lutheran confession, and, as a consequence, they declared that church fellowship exists between their two churches. The national convention of the LCN unanimously ratified the fellowship on 17 March in Oslo, opening the way for practical cooperation between the two church bodies. Norway is a favorite destination for Lithuanian expatriates. Owing to this new declaration of church fellowship, the Lithuanian church will encourage her members living in Norway to worship and receive the sacraments in LCN congregations in Norway. LCN is delighted to be able to help Lithuanian expatriates in Norway in the same way that she is working to reach out to Latvian Lutherans living in Norway.
The ELCL is the bigger church of the two with 52 congregations and 25 pastors. The LCN counts six congregations and six pastors. The ELCL and LCN are both in church fellowship with the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) in the United States as well as the Ingrian and the Latvian Lutheran churches. The LCN is a member of the International Lutheran Council (ILC), while the ELCL is a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Through their new relationship, the LCN hopes to encourage the ELCL to become a member of the ILC.